Bedtime
by jellybean88
Summary: Putting toddlers to bed can't be all that hard, can it? H/D


_**A/N: Just a little something while I'm thinking of a new chapter for DD. Reviews are as always much loved. **_

_Bedtime_

The grandfather clocked stuck ominously in the quiet parlor, announced the arrival of 7 o'clock. To anyone else this wouldn't have been anything to dread, but to Harry and Draco Potter-Malfoy it marked the beginning of bedtime.

Harry pried one eye open and looked up at Draco's calm face. The blonde was reading over the changes his editors had done to his latest book, running a hand absently through Harry's messy hair. A small frown came and went on his forehead as his eyes swept over the pages.

"Which one has to go deal with them tonight?" Harry asked.

"It's your turn," Draco replied, not bothering to look up.

"What?! It can't be. I did it yesterday."

Draco's lips quirked up into a half smile. "No hun, you _tried_ yesterday, gave up and then made me do it. It's your turn. And this time I'm not going to help you."

Harry groaned and rose from his spot on the couch, already missing Draco's lap, where his head had comfortably rested for the last hour. He stretched and took a deep breath, bracing himself. As he walked to find the twin terrors, he thought how it really wasn't that bad anymore.

When he and Draco had first begun to date, Leonius and Lorentia had balked in his presents. The much more assertive Tia had outwardly told him that she hated him, a very strong emotion for a three-year-old to posses in Harry's opinion. Leo on the other hand had taken to clinging to his Daddy's side, hiding his face whenever the dark-haired man came anywhere near the shy boy.

That had been nearly two years ago now, and the twins were hard to separate from Harry's side. Harry even enjoyed being a parent most of the time; until it came to bedtime.

As he walked up the stairs he heard giggling and shushing from the second library; a favorite spot of the children's. He smiled to himself and cast a silent _sonorus_.

"Hmm, I wonder where those children went," Harry boomed, slowly walking down the hallway. "Maybe they're in this closet?" He made a show of opening and closing the door, eliciting another round of hysterical giggles. "No? How about in here? Or maybe... the library?!" He threw the library door open, preparing himself to catch the twins as they tried to rush past him.

But the library was empty. He stepped into the room, hands on his lips, looking around carefully. It wasn't a very large room, and the bookshelves lining the walls were just big enough for the children to reach. Logically, he should have been able to spot the little platinum blonde heads in sharp contrast to the dark wood. Then again, they were Malfoy's children, and logic often didn't apply to them.

To his left he heard the children giggle again and smiled. He cancelled the spell on himself and stalked forward, meaning to startle them. But when he looked around a chair he only saw one house-elf sitting on the floor, a tape recorder sitting in her hands.

She smiled sheepishly and said, "Vira is very sorry, Master Harry. But children order Vira to help them trick their fathers. Vira couldn't say no."

Harry let his shoulders drop in disbelief. _Those sneaky little brats,_ he thought. "It's fine, Vira. Do you know where they are? It's their bedtime."

The house-elf shook her head and pushed the play button again, letting more giggles fill the room. "No. Master Leonius and Mistress Lorentia did not tell Vira anything else."

"Of course they didn't. All right, you can stop playing that tape now, Vira. Let me know if you see them," Harry said, turning around and walking back out.

Draco looked up from his manuscript when he heard Harry enter the parlor again. The pale eyebrows rose up in confusion. Putting his children to bed was never this quick.

"I have been hoodwinked by your kids," Harry said, walking past the sofa and back out the other parlor door, without offering any more details.

Draco chuckled and watched his husband retreating back. It didn't seem that long ago when having Harry put the kids to bed had been completely out of the question. Leo would scream for Draco, and Tia would do the opposite of everything Harry asked, pushing the dark-haired wizard's buttons better then Draco had ever managed. When the children had realized that Harry would become part of their family for good, they had taken to hiding. It had only been a year ago when the twins stopped running for the hills. Now his evenings could be spent with Harry, and not with his children, soothing them to sleep.

The blonde was ripped from his train of thought as something crashed to the floor, shattering into a million pieces from the screams, squeals, and cursing that came from the other room. He kept his gaze locked on the fire in front of him as his half-naked children ran passed, laughing insanely. Harry rushed after them, their pajamas in his hand.

"Get back here, you little terrors! You're not going to get out of wearing your PJs this time!"

Draco blinked slowly, picked his manuscript back up and resumed reading. "I'm not going to bother asking."

Harry scrambled up the stairs after his stepchildren. He heard the last door in the hallway click shut; their room. It would take him forever to find them in there. It was the biggest room of them all, and had enough corners and hideaway places that twenty children could hide in the room.

"All right," he said, deciding that playing a little bit dirty wouldn't hurt. "I was going to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and get some ice cream, and thought about taking someone with me. I wonder who it should be. Maybe I should take one of the house-elves?"

Tia appeared from behind a large teddy bear, her little arms crossed over her tummy, head cocked to the side. "Honestly, Daddy, a house-elf?" she asked, sounding so much like her father when he thought Harry was being ridiculous.

Leo rushed to Harry's side, wrapping himself around he man's legs. He beamed up at him and shouted, "Take us, Daddy! Take us!"

Harry smiled and rolled his eyes upward. "Well... I don't know... maybe if you put your pajamas on for me I'll take you."

Leo yanked his pajamas from Harry's hand and wiggled into them, nearly falling over when he tried to put the pants on. Tia hurried to Harry's side, trying not to look too eager, but Harry knew the look she was sporting.

"Can you take us tomorrow, Dad?" Leo asked.

"If you brush your teeth and hop into bed while I pick out a book."

The twins giggled and rushed out of the room. Harry shook his head and walked to the bookshelf between their beds. It was a bit ridiculous on how many books the children had. Then again, he had seen Draco's personal collection so it didn't really surprise him. Leo and Tia ran back in much too soon. Harry frowned at them as they scooted under Leo's covers.

"Now I know that you do not brush your teeth that quickly. Did you even bother?"

They squirmed, looking down at his hands folded on the covers. "Maybe?"

Harry sighed. "I won't tell Daddy if you won't. But just for tonight. Now scoot over so I can read you this story."

--

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose, glad to finally be done looking over the manuscript. He stretched and yawned. There was something very tiring about going over changes. He looked at the grandfather clock and frowned. It was already nine o'clock. If his children were not in bed and sleeping by now he was going to become very cross. The nightly rituals they had been insisting on were becoming ridiculous.

He ascended the stairs, being sure not to step on the second to last step as it still creaked horribly; he didn't want to give away his position after all.

The door to his children's room was ajar, allowing a small shaft of soft light into the hallway. He pushed the door open further with the pads of his fingers and peered inside. What he saw made his heart sing.

Harry sat in the middle of Leonius' bed, a book resting on his propped up knee. Lorentia sat on his left, pressed against his side, her sleeping head drooping onto his chest. Leo had probably tipped over in his sleep as he was sprawled over Harry's lap, his nose squished against the book pages. The dark-haired wizard had his arms around both children, snoring softly.

He walked toward the bed, kicking a few toys out of the way as he went. Leo shifted slightly in his sleep as Draco removed the book. Tai grumbled and scooted closer to Harry, wrapping one arm around his middle. Harry was as always oblivious. The blonde pulled the duvet off Tia's bed and covered them with it, bunching it a little to fit around his sleeping son.

As he walked back out he extinguished the lights until only the one by the door was lit, casting a soft glow into the room. He cast one last look at the three most important people in his life and left quickly, relishing in the thought of having his bed all to himself for one night.

--

Draco sipped at his coffee as he read the _Prophet_, clicking his tongue as another one of Rita Skeeter's headlines caught his attention for a fleeting moment. It was amazing that the woman was still writing.

Just then the children hurried into the parlor, shoving at each other to reach the table first. They sobered up quickly when he cleared his throat.

"Good morning, Father," they chirped together, climbing onto their chairs.

"Good morning, darlings. I take it you slept well?"

"Very," Lorentia said, reaching for some strawberry jam.

"Tell me, where's your father?"

Leo giggled again and poured himself some orange juice, nodding at his sister to answer. "Daddy said he had to take a hot shower to get the kinks out of his muscles. He called you a right old bastard for letting him sleep like that all night."

Draco choked on his coffee and laughed. Yeah, that sounded like his husband. "Leonius, Lorentia, I don't even want to hear you repeating something like that. Do you understand me?" he asked with a chuckle. The twins giggled again and nodded, digging into their breakfast.

When Harry finally emerged the children had already rushed off to play outside in the sun. Draco noticed the stiff way the other man was walking, and decided he would do something about it later. He allowed himself the indulgence of watching the other man for a while; amused that he still preferred mounds of preserves on his morning toast. He pushed the _Prophet _out of the way and rose to his feet, glancing at the clock and dreading the busy morning of book tour dates and meetings he would have to deal with. As he walked passed Harry he let his hand trail over the other mans arm.

"Thank you for that spectacular night," he said, leaning close enough for his lips to brush Harry's ear. "Let me know the next time you want to put the kids to bed and give me the bed all to myself. Have a wonderful day, darling."

"You're a bastard, Malfoy!" Harry shouted after the blonde, a note of amusement under the insult.

"Love you too, babe!"


End file.
